


The Strong, Brave Boyfriend

by aj_linguistik



Series: October Prompt Challenge [19]
Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: And so does Asuna, F/M, Haunted Houses, Humor, Kirito is a little shit but I love him, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: What man wouldn't pass up the chance to take a beautiful date through a haunted house? The appeal of having her cling to you for comfort while you brave the jump-scares is a classic gag, but it's still quite attractive for Kirito. Can he convince Asuna to go through with him? And will his plan work as smoothly as he thinks it will?
Relationships: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna
Series: October Prompt Challenge [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949194
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	The Strong, Brave Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disasterbiKirito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/gifts).



> A/N: Day 19 is Facing Their Fears, and babe has selected a haunted house. Oooh, spoopy. This was actually a difficult prompt for me because...I've never actually been in a haunted house. Surprise! Haha. My sister is terrified of puppets (don't ask) so we don't go to Halloween/spooky events where there are jump scares because she'd probably shit herself if there were puppets...xD So, I used my TV knowledge mostly for this one. Babe gave me Kirisuna for this, and this works out really well, especially when you're read the light novels and know what a teasing little shit Kirito can be. I hope you enjoy this spoopy prompt!

“That’s mean, Kirito-kun!”

Those were the first words out of Asuna’s mouth when I suggested that we take a walk through the festival’s haunted house. I suppose it was fair—I knew she was scared of ghosts, and she was well aware that I knew that fact about her. And I won’t say that it wasn’t a poorly thought-up plot to get her to rush into my arms and cling to me. It was in my nature to want my beautiful girlfriend to hold onto me for comfort as she faced her fears. Any guy would probably agree with me if they had a date as pretty as Asuna. Asuna clearly didn’t get the appeal, though. Perhaps it was because I wouldn’t be the one dashing into her arms.

I had to think of a way to get her to come with me. This was now a challenge to see if the mighty vice commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath would face her fears and enter the haunted house—it was no longer just about my selfish desire to be the strong man she clung to in her time of need. I had to think about what would be most convincing to her. If I asked her if she was too chicken to go, then she’d likely just tell me I was acting like a kid. I had to appeal to her better sense of logic.

“I just saw Sinon and Lisbeth go in there,” I said. “I was thinking maybe we could catch up to them and say hi.”

Her expression relaxed a little bit.

“Then…why don’t we wait until they get out of the haunted house?” she asked.

There it was. That sense of logic. I took her by the hand and pulled her over closer to the line. She didn’t resist, but I could tell by her face that she was still internally determined not to go through there. I pointed over at the house.

“The entrance is blocked off from the exit,” I said. “By the time we got around the back, we’d have already lost them. It’s much faster to go through the house than around it.”

Asuna gave me a suspicious look. I tried not to let it show on my face that I was worried she’d caught my bluff. I glanced to the side. I had to show that I was willing to concede. That would make this seem more convincing.

“If you’d rather we can sprint around it,” I said. “If it’s too scary for you.”

The last bit was likely taking it too far. I braced for the immediate “Don’t be childish!” reaction, but she quickly straightened up and jutted her chin out.

“W-who said I was scared?” she stammered. “O-of course we’ll take the shorter route! I-I’m not afraid of s-some ghosts!”

I had to bite my tongue and tell myself not to respond to that. She was adorable. Her determination to suddenly prove that she was brave was a priceless side of Asuna that only I ever got to see. I reached down and grasped her hand in mine. I gave her an innocent smile. She did her best to give me one back. As we hopped into the line, I couldn’t help but think of this as a victory for me.

_My arms are waiting to hold you, Asuna._

I know, I know. I’m a bit selfish.

Asuna squeezed my hand tightly as we approached the haunted house. To me, it didn’t seem like much. All of the scares inside were people in costumes or mechanical puppets. No real monsters were present inside. It was all fake. Some people really did get spooked by these things, as was apparent from Asuna trembling at my side when we walked through the doorway. I hoped she wouldn’t be too mad at me when we got to the other side and saw that Sinon and Lisbeth hadn’t actually gone through the haunted house before us.

The interior of the house was dark. Its only source of light came from these blacklight strings running through the hallways. Certain areas were brighter than others from a first glance. I stepped into the hallway and felt Asuna suddenly grasp my whole arm. I tried to refrain from chuckling. She really was the cutest thing. I turned to her and watched her scan the area with worried eyes.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I gotcha.”

She nodded and pressed her cheek up against my shoulder as we moved forward. There was an ambience speaker filtering your typical spooky noises through it: wind, creaking wood, the occasional ghostly, undead voice. As we stepped into the main hallway, a fog machine hissed as it filled the space with a cloudy mist. The way seemed clear for a moment, and then from out of the wall sprung a cold hand that touched my neck so suddenly I couldn’t help but let out a yelp myself.

Asuna turned up to me and saw the hand and let out a shriek of her own. I drew in a deep breath and told myself that it wasn’t real. I’d just been caught off guard. I side-stepped the hand and cleared my throat. Asuna looked up at me, her eyes betraying her worry. I gave her as confident of a smile as I could.

“I’m alright,” I said.

She shook her head.

“That was a dirty trick,” she said. “D-don’t worry, Kirito-kun! I’m here for you, too!”

I squeezed her hand. Seriously, she was the cutest thing in the world. Here I was, trying to get her to run into my arms for safety, and she was trying to offer up hers for me. Asuna was so kind-hearted and sweet like that. It made me want to lean over and kiss her, but there were probably security cameras watching—plus, I doubted that Asuna wanted to stop in the middle of a haunted house to get a kiss. She likely wanted out of this place as quickly as possible.

We moved past the hand and I figured the rest wouldn’t get me so bad. It was just that I’d had my guard down. I kept my eyes peeled for the next trick, ready to take it on like the brave hero I was deep down inside. Our feet turned a corner, and we both backed up a few paces and clung to each other with a scream as a giant spider fell down from the ceiling and dangled in our faces. It was far too realistic for a fake creature of its size. Asuna and I hugged one another closely and it was impossible to comfort the other through our trembling.

“Too…too real…too big…” I gasped.

Asuna nodded.

“H-how is it wr-wriggling like that?” she stammered back.

I swallowed.

“P-probably…m-mechatronics,” I responded.

I supposed this would be my fate. I’d wanted to drag her in here to show how brave I was and to have her holding onto me for comfort, and now I was shaking like a child because of a few jump scares. What in the world was the matter with me? I wasn’t actually afraid of spiders. In fact, we’d fought off giant spiders on the third floor of Aincrad. It was just the suddenness of its appearance that had startled me. I swallowed my pride as I tried to urge Asuna forwards. We sidled around the spider and continued walking.

The next obstacle was a few paces down from the spider. Overhead, a ghost shot over our heads. This one didn’t get me as bad as the spider had, but I felt a shudder creep down my spine as it brushed against my hair. Asuna screamed at top volume and dove directly into my chest with such force that I fell against the wall. I cradled her in my arms and stroked her back, trying to keep my own pulse even so that she couldn’t feel I was afraid.

“I’m right here,” I said. “It’s not real.”

She clung tightly to my shirt. I would have called this a success except for the fact that we were only about halfway through the haunted house, and I myself already wanted to get out of there. I scanned the area for the place where the ghost’s trail stopped. I clutched Asuna in my arms, told her to keep her eyes shut tightly, and then walked her away from the ghost. When she popped her head up again, I advised her not to look backwards. She bit her lip and nodded. She remained wrapped around me as we walked forward.

“M-maybe we should have just gone around,” she lamented. “By now, Sinon and Lisbeth are probably way ahead of us.”

I nodded my head.

“Yeah…likely so,” I said, sighing.

At least I wouldn’t be called a liar when we stepped out on the other side. I just hoped they were in the general area so that I wouldn’t get caught. I patted Asuna’s shoulder and urged her forward. The desire to stay back and prolong the journey just to cover my own tracks was long overtaken by the desire to not look like a moron as I screamed over silly jump scares. I did my best to keep us moving as a sensible pace.

That just wasn’t in my cards, though. Every little thing seemed to be getting me just as bad as it was getting Asuna. I wasn’t even remotely scared of these things. After I composed myself each time, I wondered why in the world I’d jumped and screamed over a clearly fake puppet or a person in a costume. These things never bothered me as a kid. Why was I so on edge now of all times? I kept my internal disappointment of myself exactly that—internal. There was no way in hell that I’d be letting Asuna know I was disappointed in how easily I was being spooked.

The one that really did me in came at the very end, though. We figured by then that we were pretty close to the exit, and I silently started praying that nothing would pop up between us and the doorway to freedom and daylight. I instinctively picked up my pace and shook Asuna’s shoulder. She looked up and smiled.

“The exit!” she exclaimed.

I nodded.

“We made it!” I said.

The glowing exit sign was right within our reach. We hurried over towards it. But one last test appeared before us, in the shape of something horribly and unpleasantly familiar. Out from a panel in the wall, a man dressed as a short, stocky clown leapt out. The face was painted much like any horror-themed clown you could imagine, with the blood dripping out of his eye sockets and mouth, the exaggerated clownish makeup, and the brightly colored but tattered clothes. My mind played a nasty association game on me, though, and I turned and leapt up into Asuna’s arms, clinging to her like a small child.

Asuna nearly tripped as she tried to steady herself from catching my weight. She blinked over at the clown and then looked back at me quizzically. Really? This one didn’t bother her at all? Now I really _did_ look like an idiot. I couldn’t help myself, though. The fake before me looked too close to the real horror I’d faced in battle in the Underworld.

“Kirito-kun, what’s gotten into you?” she said, laughing. “It’s just a clown.”

I buried my face in her shoulder.

“I thought it was the Prime Senator come back from the dead!” I cried. “Excuse me for being a chicken!”

She just chuckled and started walking onwards to the exit. She said nothing about my ridiculous state as she walked out of the haunted house, carrying me in her arms like a child. When we stepped out into the daylight, I finally pulled my head out of her shoulder and looked around. To my utter horror, Sinon and Lisbeth _were_ standing outside of the exit waiting for us. So, too, were Alice and Sugu. I gulped and looked down at myself and then back over to him.

“Really, Kirito-kun,” Asuna said. “You’re the one who wanted to take the shortcut.”

I didn’t know what to say. Had I just had one pulled over on me?

“Serves you right, Kirito,” Sinon said. “We figured you’d pull a stunt to get Asuna to head into the haunted house. Asuna had texted us before you even pulled that trick.”

I awkwardly laughed and looked up at Asuna. She was giving me the most satisfied grin I’d ever seen coming from her. She’d totally bested me.

“Don’t worry, Kirito-kun,” she said. “I’ll hold you as long as you need me to.”

Giving up, I let my head fall back into the crook of her shoulder. This might as well happen. At least we were out of the haunted house now. Next time, I wouldn’t be so foolish as to try and trick her into doing something spooky. I’d make sure that the others weren’t nearby to turn it all around on me. Asuna gave me a quick kiss on the forehead.

“I love you, scaredy-cat,” she said.

I sighed.

“I love you, too, Asuna.”

And with that, she carried me all the way back to the picnic area, refusing to put me down the whole way there.


End file.
